I would answer this but I got my head torn off last time. How much are you looking to spend? My DP runs a web design business and specialises in ecommerce. I'm happy to PM you if I can get an idea of your budget

Thank you! That's great and although im not really up with all the lingo as yet, that site looks great and just what I'm after. I was quoted $6000 by another e-commerce design business earlier which nearly made me choke as a mum wanting to start small!

Yep, I was just thinking in the thousands is what you'll usually spend for a site with lots of products to be added as the designer usually helps you with marketing and everything else on top of making a unique website for you - this is often weeks worth of work for the designer/marketer.

I work from home (wedding flowers) and my "shop front" is all on line. I got quotes for website and hosting from $1000 plus. I actually designed my own with wix.com for free and it's been great. Costs around $10/month to run. The only problem is that it's flash so cannot be viewed on iPhone etc. I'm in the process of setting up a website with adobe ( also free) so the site can be seen on any device.

Btw... A year ago I could only handle email/facebook level computer stuff. I am not techy at all...I'm a florist lol!! The wix program is soooo simple it's just clicking and dragging... No weird codes or techy stuff.

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I second Benji's suggestion that eBay is a good place to start out as a small business. Far fewer set up costs and an enormous pre-existing customer base.

If you want your own website but want to do it on a budget you could try somewhere like Freelancer - where you post a 'job' and then people bid to do it for you. In the job you could include instructions on how to maintain the site yourself and to upload new stock etc.

PayPal is definitely the easiest way to accept money initially. You can self onboard and it can be up and running straight away. Just be aware of their obligation to perform additional identity checks on you when your account balance goes over a certain amount.

Another advantage of PayPal is customer trust - customers know that even if you are a new business it is 'safe' to buy with you because PayPal offers buyer protection. I've come across a few small businesses in my time with very clunky, unprofessional websites but the fact that they have PayPal has given me the courage to try them out.

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Thanks for all the advice everyone! It's great. I'm sure I'm capable of navigating my way around some of the website tools but time is not really on my side, and I have a 1 year-old (need I say more)... Hence my love of the idea of getting someone else to do it!

I don't have a whole lot of products so much, just (reslly cool) gift hampers I make myself that I'll sell through my website and deliver locally, so eBay doesn't suit... Otherwise I'd use it for sure...

Thanks for all the advice everyone! It's great. I'm sure I'm capable of navigating my way around some of the website tools but time is not really on my side, and I have a 1 year-old (need I say more)... Hence my love of the idea of getting someone else to do it!

I don't have a whole lot of products so much, just (reslly cool) gift hampers I make myself that I'll sell through my website and deliver locally, so eBay doesn't suit... Otherwise I'd use it for sure...

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